According to a senior security official from the Kurdish region of Iraq, terrorists from the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a terrorist organization that is also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), have travelled to Syria via southeastern Turkey’s Sanliurfa Province to join the Islamic State jihadist group.

[…] “The fact that these extremists can easily enter Turkey and later travel to Syria and Iraq to join IS is a direct consequence of the Turkish government’s ambiguous policies,” a source familiar with China’s anti-terrorism operations, told the Global Times.

[…] “The illegal issuance of passports and visas and customs loopholes in some Southeast Asian countries have allowed extremists to travel to Turkey and then go on to join the jihadists,” the source told the Global Times.

“If there weren’t so many illegal passports and visas available, there would not be so many members of ETIM in Syria and Iraq,” the source noted.

According to information from various sources, including security officers from Iraq’s Kurdish region, Syria and Lebanon, around 300 Chinese extremists are fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria. [Source]

Reports suggest Beijing has been in talks of conducting airstrikes in support of Iraqi efforts against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIL) for month, with the foreign ministry in Baghdad appearing to confirm the development to the Financial Times on Friday.

The apparent promise of military intervention comes, analysts say, at a time when Beijing hopes to globalize support for a clampdown on China describes as Uighur terrorism.

Chinese officials say around 300 Chinese nationals are currently fighting with ISIL — three times the estimate of less than six months ago.

And while details of the fighters’ identities had reportedly been unverifiable, officials have now reportedly concluded that China’s ISIL fighters are members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) — a group that since 9/11 has been deemed a Uighur “terrorist” organization by Beijing. Analysts have questioned the group’s existence, noting that nearly all information on the organization is funneled through Chinese officials and state media. […] [Source]